Honorable Mention for Cyprus

David Patrick Lane — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:35:18 +0000

Three defeats and three points behind third placed Bulgaria, Cyprus are not contenders. Yet, Cypriot footballers are a competitive bunch and cannot be dismissed just yet. What may seem as an exercise in improving their coefficient may suddenly ignite into a qualification campaign.

Cyprus have a game in hand over Ireland. They host Ireland next. The Irish are consistent and concede very little, but the Boys in Green are not so dominant that they can expect to prevail in the battle of divided European islands.

If Cyprus win, there may be more to say about them in September and October.

(This concludes our look at Group 8. Italy remain favorites to qualify. We will have more on Italy closer to the draw in Cape Town. Apparently the Antipodeans are still angry. Whatever. Fabio Grosso is a left back and a gentleman.)

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C’mon You Boys in Green – Ireland 2010

David Patrick Lane — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:02:20 +0000

We continue our look at European qualifiers. Group 8 next. (No Georgia in South Africa, their campaign tripped up by two overlapping Russian full backs, Sergei Ossetia and Igor Abkhazia. Meanwhile, substitute Joe Biden has promised to help Georgia maintain their shape in future fixtures.)

Moving on from Iceland and up the index of heavily indebted and bank bollixed Western European nations, we turn to the Republic of Ireland.

Is there a term in the Gaeltacht for Catenaccio? Does the Irish captain drink Jammy Donuts? It seems applying classic football nomenclature or the current cult of celebrity to the Irish team somehow misses the point.

The Irish have found themselves close to rows of Ryan Air seats, with Roy Keane approved leg room, and a chance to fly direct to a small field outside Rustenburg, largely because they are a well managed, familiar outfit. Georgia’s Russian problem certainly helped. But Ireland are close to qualification because they got results, and others, like Bulgaria, have not.

There has been some symmetry on Ireland’s road to South Africa. The Irish have beaten the Georgians twice, each time 2-1 (watch the videos here and here). The rest has been positively binary. Two 1-1 draws against Bulgaria. And away draws against Montenegro (0-0) and Italy (1-1), as well as 1-0 home win over Cyprus. Not very convincing, yet effective.

Ireland may not posses great players of old like Giles, Brady, McGrath or Keane, but they are a settled team. Shay Given is a very good goalkeeper. Finnan, O’Shea, Dunne et al are good, servicable defenders. Ireland has an industrious and practical midfield. Robbie Keane is a very good forward. The substitutes understand their role, if introduced. There are a few young fellas knocking on the door. And in Giovanni Trapattoni, Ireland is managed by a coach who does not need to prove he knows what he is doing.

No one will want to play Ireland should they take 2nd place in Group 8. But they could do better. Trapattoni hosts Italy in Dublin in October. If Trapattoni gets it right on the night, it could be the World Cup champions scrambling to find a small airfield outside some random European capital. Buon Giorno, Belarus? The questions of whether a World Cup would feel right without the Champions is a topic we hope not to have to discuss here.

Meanwhile our friends over at the South African Organizing Committee will no doubt appreciate having to find an extra 20,000 Scrathers for the Boys in Green.

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Honorable Mention for Cyprus

C’mon You Boys in Green – Ireland 2010